New Study Undercuts MVP Economic Benefits Claims

A new study by Key-Log Economics (“Reason for Caution: Mountain Valley Pipeline Economic Studies Overestimate Benefits, Downplay Costs”) casts strong doubts on the claims made by MVP for economic benefits of the pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia. This new report shows that previous studies exaggerate the benefits and largely ignore the public and external costs attending the construction, operation and presence of the MVP.

When FTI Consulting released MVP-funded reports in 2014 describing the purported economic benefits of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, it included disclaimers that, “There is no assurance by anyone that this information is accurate or complete” and that FTI would not vouch for “the completeness and achievability of the projected financial data, information and assessments.”

“The FTI studies are a form of magical thinking,” said Angela Stanton of Preserve the New River Valley. “They overestimate the potential benefits and ignore the costs. It’s like trying to balance your checkbook by fantasizing your income and ignoring your expenses.”

Central findings of the Key-Log Economics critique were that the FTI reports for MVP:

Over-estimate “construction benefits” to the MVP region

Overestimate total employment effects of pipeline operation and maintenance

Overstate benefits from fuel switching, which appear unlikely to occur

Overstate financial benefits to local governments.

Do not provide sufficient information to support a decision to permit the Mountain Valley Pipeline. A full accounting of public and external costs is needed.

Costs ignored by the FTI reports include reduced landscape productivity, diminished property values, diminished economic development opportunities and reduced desirability of the pipeline-affected region as a destination of choice for businesses and residents. Other impacts include increased community services costs due to damage to roads and bridges and greater need for emergency services. All of these add to the costs of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and clearly show that natural gas development and operations can upset the economic apple cart in local communities.

About Preserve the NRV

Preserve the NRV is a citizen advocacy group working to stop the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline. The group will work with the citizens of the New River Valley, as well as all of the impacted regions in Virginia and West Virginia to advance a shared mission of stopping the pipeline project and, if necessary, advise on any possible construction routes and sites for the proposed pipeline that would diminish the negative consequence of the project on the environment, land, and citizens of Virginia and West Virginia.